Chapter 569: He Is Not Him: Xinran Zhanglao vs. Lingjian Zhenren

"Master."

Chen Churan's hand holding the sword trembled slightly, the blade almost slipping from her grasp; she thought of something, looked for her master's figure, but didn't see it.

After searching around, the master wasn't at home; I don't know where they went.

"Master, you wouldn't be?"

She looked toward the Dadian, gritted her teeth, recalled her master's words telling her to stay put and not go anywhere.

There was only one possibility: the master had gone to the Dadian to find the Sect Leader Uncle.

As for what they were going to do, Chen Churan didn't know; she always had an ominous premonition.

"Master, surely nothing bad has happened to her, right?"

I don't know why, this thought popped into her mind, a frightening thought.

Soon, Chen Churan shook her head, dismissing that unrealistic thought; she herself found it ridiculous—this is the Spirit Sword Sect, where the master and Sect Leader Uncle are on such good terms, fellow senior and junior disciples for many years—how could anything happen?

"Maybe I'm overthinking it; the master won't come to harm."

"Master, remember to come back early."

She clenched her fists, staring at the Dadian, unable to cultivate or practice swordsmanship, just staring.

Outside the Dadian.

Ming Jianzi had waited a long time, but the great formation hadn't opened; the battle inside hadn't ended, so he couldn't enter.

Half an hour passed, and he still couldn't get in; he had no idea what was happening inside.

"Master, Senior Uncle."

He let out a soft shout, trying to transmit his voice inside, but it was useless—the formation blocked everything, completely separating inside from outside.

Nothing could be seen or heard.

He could only feel the faint clash of sword Technique, the special sword Technique of his senior uncle, which is the most distinctive sword Technique in the entire Spirit Sword Sect, unmistakable at a glance.

Time passed again.

After a quarter hour.

Inside, it seemed to have stopped.

No movement.

Ming Jianzi couldn't help but anxiously ask: "Has the battle ended? Has the victor been decided?"

The battle between master and senior uncle was inscrutable to him; he didn't know who would laugh last.

The formation still hadn't opened.

Ming Jianzi still couldn't get in.

Inside the formation.

Xinran Zhanglao lay on the ground, her whole body stained red with blood, the wound on her shoulder continuously bleeding.

Elsewhere, various wounds appeared—over a dozen of them, varying in depth.

The deep wounds were as deep as a sword's length, exposing white bone.

Lingjian Zhenren also had a few wounds on his body, not very obvious, with red blood seeping out and staining his clothes.

He sat there, glancing indifferently at his junior sister lying on the ground.

"Junior Sister Xinran, do you still want to get up?"

"In this battle, you have already lost."

The victor's posture was extremely arrogant.

Xinran Zhanglao gritted her teeth, enduring the pain as she stood up.

Her body, which could collapse at any moment, remained stubbornly upright.

Within her body, sword Technique crisscrossed, continually piercing her organs.

Her five viscera and six bowels were all problematic.

But she could not fall.

"Cough cough."

Xinran Zhanglao coughed violently, spitting out two mouthfuls of blood, without a care.

She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, lifted her head, and her icy eyes fixed on Lingjian Zhenren.

"I will not fall, nor will I admit defeat."

"Return my senior brother, or else don't blame me for killing you."

Upon hearing this, Lingjian Zhenren seemed to have heard a huge joke and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha."

"This is laughable, Junior Sister Xinran—do you really think you're a match for me?"

"I have only used fifty percent of my strength so far, while you have already collapsed."

"With that appearance, you want to kill me? Pure fantasy."

Xinran Zhanglao couldn't hear his mockery, and walked forward on her own.

Blood-red footprints were imprinted on the Dadian floor.

Sword Technique, once again condensing, as she pleased.

"Senior brother, junior sister will not let you continue to sink."

"Cough cough, junior sister will not let these scum take over your body."

She knew that the body before her was her senior brother's.

Only, the soul inside had been replaced by another.

As for whose soul it was, Xinran Zhanglao had a guess.

The soul of the person from Tianwai might have already taken control of her senior brother's body long ago; she hadn't noticed, or rather, this senior brother hid it well, spending most of his time in closed-door cultivation and rarely seeing her.

It seemed he was deliberately avoiding her; Xinran Zhanglao thought it over, and everything made sense.

Senior brother, you cannot die.

That is her senior brother; his soul must be awakened.

"Hehehe, naive one, if you can defeat me, what if I let his soul revive?"

"But can you do it?"

Lingjian Zhenren's body tilted slightly, not putting Xinran Zhanglao in his eyes at all.

A disdainful attitude, a contemptuous gaze.

"If Chen Chuyang were here, perhaps you could do it."

"The problem is he isn't here, and you are destined to fall."

He raised his hand, gradually condensing a Technique.

"Hum."

A sound of breaking space rang out; a Technique appeared before Xinran Zhanglao's eyes.

Xinran Zhanglao swung her blade, blocking that Technique.

Xinran Zhanglao's body was blown several meters away, falling to the ground again.

Lingjian Zhenren stood up, saying disdainfully, "Don't waste your effort; you could never be my opponent."

Just lower your head and become my slave; from now on, obey my orders alone.

If you perform well in the future, I might grant you an opportunity.

"Hmph."

Xinran Zhanglao stood up again; they would not fall.

I only want to kill you.

"Heart Sword Dao, Heart Sword Qi."

"Heart Sword."

Spiritual Sense transformed into a blade, directly piercing Lingjian Zhenren before them.

"Hum."

This move targets not the flesh, but the soul.

Lingjian Zhenren's body halted there, motionless.

Xinran Zhanglao stepped closer; this sword consumed a great deal of Xinran Zhanglao's soul power, making swift movement impossible; this body was severely wounded, inside already chaotic, various Techniques disturbing the body.

As long as they could get close, they could……

The distance, ever closer.

Three meters.

Two point five meters.

Step forward.

Two meters.

A sword was thrust out; the blade was seized.

Lingjian Zhenren's eyes regained clarity; they raised their right hand, grasping the blade.

Those eyes hid a hint of killing intent; they acted on that killing intent.

That Heart Sword move was something they had never seen, leaving them unprepared.

A little more, and their soul would have been pierced.

Fortunately, their soul was strong enough, and they also had a Spiritual Artifact protecting their soul.

That Spiritual Artifact shattered, and their soul suffered damage.

"You deserve to die, Xinran."

Shattering the Technique, Lingjian Zhenren directly seized their neck and lifted them up.

"How dare you injure my soul; you deserve to die."

Soul damage is hard to heal.

Repairing it is extremely difficult; in this world, it is basically impossible to fix.

They had always acted cautiously, precisely because they worried about this.

As a result, in the end, they still got hit.

Fear what may come; what comes is what is feared.